


the king of the castle

by madcities



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Ending friendships, M/M, Middle School
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-10-18 10:51:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17579474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madcities/pseuds/madcities
Summary: Kunimi is only fourteen when he leaves the oppressive and egocentric Kageyama behind.(Or: The downfall of the uncrowned king of the court.)





	the king of the castle

**Author's Note:**

> hello i wrote this in class when i was bored and i was in the mood.. for some kageyama n kunimi I MEAN their friendship is so underrated or well uhh idek if you can call what they have now a friendship, probably not lol but they used to be friends in middle school before kageyama went KING OF THE COURT and writing about them makes me happpiiiiii even though what i wrote isn't really???? happy?? well... anyways.... this is short, hope you enjoy it anyways ANDDDD i'll be writing a bungou stray dogs fic soon and it'll be a soukoku one ahhh so excited

Kunimi is fourteen when he leaves the oppressive and egocentric Kageyama behind. 

It starts with the raising of his voice. It’s the very first thing Kunimi remembers about the birth of the tyrant king in their middle, how sharp and unnerving the sound was when he cawed at his teammates for the first time; like a crow, forcing everyone to fall deadly silent to listen to what he had to say.

At first, Kunimi is not ready to turn his back on him quite yet. Maybe it’s simply because of the hidden away adoration he holds for him and the way his tosses are always top notch, but Kageyama has an endearing habit of buying _one extra carton of milk_ and they’ve been joined at the hips since age twelve so when Kageyama shouts in his face, it stings. 

Kunimi knows he’s lazy and lax on the court, more than anyone, but when Kageyama is the one who points out every mistake and fault without stutter or uncertainty with that angry look in his eyes it makes Kunimi shiver more than he likes. 

Still, without fault, Kunimi walks Kageyama and Kindaichi to the busstop every day where they wait patiently for their bus to come and the two of them exchange friendly looks and bump their fists like usual with the cold evening air in their hair and it actually feels like old times and like it’s going to be alright. Like it’s just pressure, stress, like it will be over soon. 

Or not.

It’s the evening before the Junior High Athletics Meet when Kindaichi and Kunimi decide to speak to coach about it. 

That evening the team had decided to stay to practice past dinnertime, Kunimi getting a bit too tired after spiking for some time and his feet move fast but not fast enough, ball falling to the floor untouched and there’s a roar – because the king saw the hesitation in his steps and now he’s walking over. Kunimi is kind of hunched over trying to catch his breath, but he doesn’t even have to look up from the floor to know whose throat the roar bursted from. 

“You could easily hit that!” Kageyama barks. Kunimi can only blink at him, hand on his own knee tightening as the uneasy feeling in his guts morphs into something else, something much bigger. It’s more burning, hot, it heats up his fists and his head and it allows him to want to bark right back into his face. But Kunimi as always has no energy for something so extra like that. After all, it’d be hypocritical, taking such a disliking to loud people himself, so he settles for just one word.

“Sorry.” His eyes are almost deadly, but Kageyama’s are leagues more deadly as they turn away swiftly, readying for the next toss.

 

Kunimi and Kindaichi see black as they sit down with the coach that same evening, and although he feels nothing but distaste and the need to do this, Kunimi’s hands feel the tiniest bit clammy and sweaty, because is this betrayal? Is he turning his back on Kageyama without even attempting to talk it over? He can’t really shake the question, and it makes him feel nauseous trying to find the answer to that, but he tries to forget regardless because in a way, Kageyama has betrayed them too. 

 

 

-

 

 

On the day of the athletics meet, the king loses his temper once again when nobody spikes his toss and he realizes that he’s nothing but a king overthrown by his commoners. He gets switched out to calm down, and Kunimi can only watch from on the court as Kageyama sorely slumps in his seat from behind the sidelines, but time goes on and so does the match. They end up winning without him.

Kageyama is already long gone when they finish stretching, something inside Kunimi snapping instantly as the piece of information registers. Is it guilt? He remembers the way Kageyama yelled at him profusely for not chasing after the ball before he got benched, for being lazy, and Kunimi finds himself grit his teeth as he pushes himself through the door leading to the hallway.

Kunimi finds him outside the bathroom, hard to miss because he looks miserable standing there all sour and unbelieving, clutching his bag tightly and his knuckles are white. When Kageyama looks up to meet his eyes, there’s only frustration and hurt because he treasures playing so much, but he got benched and it painfully pierced his ego. Kunimi knows this.

“Kageyama.” Kunimi doesn’t really know what to say, to be honest. The mention of his name seems to be more than enough to get a response out of Kageyama.

“I don’t really care. I’ll win on my own next time. I’m plenty strong.” Is what he says, fists clenched tight against his shorts and he glances at Kunimi one more time before he turns on his heel and drags himself away.

It’s then that it dawns on Kunimi that he thought that he’d left him behind, turned his back on his own best friend at last after enduring his new autocratic nature, but that he was terribly wrong; Kageyama has been the one to turn his back on him— not the other way around, and he had done so a long time ago when he first became the feared king of the court. When _we_ became _I._

The realization tastes nasty on his tongue, and it’s like a fire starts on his skin and burns its way into his chest to ignite a feeling even more poisonous than the looks they exchanged yesterday.

 _‘From here on out, I’ll chase after the ball.’_ Kunimi tells himself before he goes to sleep, new found determination burning in his chest along with the raging fire Kageyama ignited inside him before he coldly tossed him aside and walked off, his harsh words from during the match still ringing in Kunimi’s ears.


End file.
